As the video recounts, John DeLorean left his position as head of General Motors in the 1970s to start his own company. DeLorean wanted to build a car that was different and would last longer than the usual two or three years, which is why he ultimately settled on a stainless steel body for the DMC-12. When word got out that the new company was looking for a site to build the car, and that it was looking to hire 2000-2500 workers, foreign governments began courting DeLorean for his patronage. Northern Ireland was chosen for the factory site, and afterward construction of the facility, development, and full production of the car were all carried out in a record 28 months.

In order to raise the stock offering that was planned for 1981, DeLorean needed to build a certain number of cars. The entrepreneur ordered production to double, unable to foresee one of the worst sales slumps of the decade ahead. By 1982, DeLorean lost control of the factory and needed a large sum of cash to get it back. It’s at this point that DeLorean is offered a shady business deal by a neighbor, which turns out to be the bait for a DEA sting operation. By the time DeLorean was put on trial, the company had filed for bankruptcy and the factory and inventory had been sold off.

The new DeLorean Motor Company, based in Texas, now has millions of new-old-stock DMC-12 parts purchased from the original company’s liquidation, and claims to have “better than 98 percent” parts availability. The company also obtained all the original blueprints and records, so it can work with suppliers to reproduce parts if its stock ever runs out.

Thanks to its starring role in 1985’s “Back to the Future,” the DeLorean has been immortalized. And with the new DeLorean Motor Company’s parts stockpile, you can expect to still see them on the road for the foreseeable future. Check out the full episode below.

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